Chase Young on Redskins’ call: ‘It was definitely an exciting moment’

Chase Young’s phone rang and when the 21-year-old pass rusher answered, Ron Rivera was on the other line. The Redskins coach informed him that he was going to be a Redskin. When their conversation finished, Rivera spoke to Young’s father.

Young smiled, taking in the news.

“Man, it was definitely an exciting moment,” Young said.

After being drafted second overall Thursday, Young said he’s ready to go out and “make my presence felt” on the NFL. With Washington, the Maryland native joins his hometown team after dominating the college level at Ohio State.

Young’s arrival to the Redskins had been a foregone conclusion. Regarded by many as the best player in the draft, Young was all but a certainty to go the pick following the Cincinnati Bengals’ selection of quarterback Joe Burrow.

But on a conference call with reporters, Young said he didn’t know for sure if it was actually going to happen.

“I knew a lot of people saying the Redskins might draft me,” Young said. “Every mock draft had the Redskins taking me but with mock drafts, with those drafts, you never know if those are going to come true. So you know, I muted out everything and just didn’t pay too much attention to the mock drafts.”

It finally became a reality around 8:34 p.m. Following his conversation with Rivera, Young heard from Redskins owner Dan Snyder. Snyder wished the 21-year-old well and congratulated him, while Young said he thanked him in return.

Young’s selection brings a lot of excitement for the Redskins and their fanbase. Days leading up to the draft, the defensive end heard from Dwayne Haskins, his quarterback and former Buckeye teammate. Young said Haskins gave him the “inside scoop” on the Redskins and shared advice on how to prepare in the NFL.

And when Young was drafted, Haskins instantly fired off a tweet that welcomed him home and encouraged them to get to work.

He wasn’t the only player thrilled. Receivers like Terry McLaurin and Kelvin Harmon tweeted gleefully about how loaded the team’s defensive line appears to be. By drafting Young, the Redskins became the first team in the modern era to draft a first-round defensive lineman in four consecutive drafts, according to ESPN.

Young will join a group featuring Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne — the Redskins’ last three linemen to be picked in the first round. It also includes Ryan Kerrigan and Matt Ioannidis, Washington’s sack leaders from the last two seasons.

“We saw the success San Fransisco had last year with that type of a front,” Rivera told the Redskins’ Larry Michael. “That type of front helps the rest of the team. It helps the linebackers, helps the secondary. And again, one of the things we want to make sure we do is we play fast. We want to add speed to what we’re doing.”

Young’s speed is arguably his best attribute. The 21-year-old didn’t run a 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, but he blew by opposing offensive linemen throughout his time at Ohio State. He led the nation in 2019 with 16 ½ sacks.

That speed is partially why Young is confident in his game, why he viewed himself as the best player in the draft — a statement he again repeated when speaking to reporters. The fact Young went second overall didn’t come as a surprise to him, he said. Belief in his game was never the issue; it was a matter of proving it to others.

“I know at the end of the day, that’s the only thing that matters is how you play football,” Young said. “So I was just real precise and real technical in the things I did in games to try and be just the best player I can be.”

Now, it’s a matter of translating his game to the pro level. Young seems to understand this, saying he plans to prepare his hardest.

He also appears to grasp the realities that come with playing in his hometown.

“I don’t really call it pressure,” Young said. “I just call it motivation. … A lot of motivation. I’m just going to keep putting my best foot forward and keep it moving.”